I liked the idea of using artwork as a means to evaluate literacy skills. In my classes, I try to give students opportunities to incorporate drawings into their writing assignments; I feel this adds an element of confidence for those who struggle with reading and excel artistically. Another element I have used in my classes that encourage creativity (to keep me from having my students produce what they think I am looking for) was a process drama assignment. I originally was introduced to this idea in one of Brec Cooke’s classes and took the activity into my classroom.
When a day is approaching where class periods will be shortened, I divide my classes into groups and assign each group a chapter or certain number of pages. From that chapter/page selection, the group selects an incident to act out in front of the class. Their actions and words to not need to represent what a character says/does verbatim – they merely need to be their interpretation. I have had great success using this concept in my classroom with the Walter Dean Myers text, Monster; Harper Lee’s, To Kill A Mockingbird and Gary Soto’s, Living Up the Street (“Being Stupid”).
In addition to using process drama activities to help student understanding, I used an activity where students wrote a letter to a character in Monster. The main stipulation was that the letter had to be written using newspaper clippings. I felt this activity had students reading and writing throughout the project. It was a messy assignment, and I eventually permitted them to include hand-written words, but my students did a great job and were all proud of their work.
I’ve found these types of activities help students better understand the textual inferences to social justices and inequalities in the story at hand. They also help to build confidence; with this in mind, I must wonder why school districts, like D.C. Public Schools, choose to follow rigid curricula, which offer a “one-size-fits-all” solution to improving literacy levels. It almost seems counterproductive, in the sense that students are not gaining the knowledge and understanding they truly need to progress in the fields of literacy and education. Instead, it seems like they should take all literacy components into consideration and come up with the curriculum that allows students to learn and understand in a variety of ways. I believe some would call that differentiating instruction… what a novel idea!?
4 comments:
I love the process drama strategy you wrote about by the way. I think it also is a terrific tool for making visible our ideologies and beliefs or that of our students. They often have aha moments in midst of their dramas as they realize the positions from which they speak. Great stuff..Brec is an amazing teacher and thinker!!!
I think what you are talking about is more than differentiating instruction because what you are doing is making accessible opportunities for analysis through the use of intertextual and inter-modal ways. The literacies produced from such practices are different then those that come from more traditionally known differentiated instruction. What you are talking about includes helping your students become more informed readers, writers and meaning-makers.
Great post. Thanks.
vivian
What a great exercise to promote citical literacy! Besides students working cooperatively and decoding text, they are also teaching each other content and important analysis skills.
Not only did students enjoy that activity, but I'm sure now they are more invested in your class and apt to really participate and enjoy subsequent lessons. It's all about catching their attention and getting them to "buy in." Not to mention you are developing their skills in a "fun" way. Nice work!
it seems that all of the activities that you have the students do really take them out of the mundane world of regurgitation of facts and events. although i am a science teach, i can relate to the students not only being challenged, but enjoying activities that require a good bit of creativity (and sometimes, teamwork).
especially cool is the letter that your students created. that is one very original way to get students reading about the world happening around them and combining that with composing a letter for a specific purpose. the number of higher order thinking skills that such an assignment provides is outstanding. last, i think that if all teachers like you were willing to post/share your best practices like the ones you did here, then we'd have no need for such crappy curricula in DC. you're very inspiring!
There is a definite need to add drama to the curriculum. I am getting more comfortable in my role as a teacher, guide, and facilitator. I want to add more conversations to my discussions and I even have a name to call them. DCPS standards are not written by teaches. They are written by people who think linearly and forgotten how other kids think. They only remember how they got be now.
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